Tobi Amusan, the world’s fastest woman in the 100-meter hurdles, will start defending her championship on Tuesday (today) at Budapest’s National Athletics Centre.
In accordance with the championship’s event schedule, the race gets underway at 6:12.
Amusan was given the go-ahead last Thursday by the Athletics Integrity Unit to defend her championship after an appeals panel determined that, despite failing three whereabouts tests in a 12-month period, she had not broken any anti-doping laws.
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In the fifth and final heat of the first round, the 26-year-old will compete in lane four against Jamaica’s Megan Tapper, who won the bronze medal at the Olympics.
Other hurdlers competing in heat five are Maayke Tjin-a-lim, Michelle Jenneke, Yumi Tanaka, Natalia Christofi, Ebony Morrison and Nika Glojnaric.
At this stage last year, Amusan started her remarkable season with 12.40secs in her heat to set a new African record, before posting a 12.12secs to surpass a world record set by Kendra Harrison’s 12.20sec in 2016 on her way to claiming the 100m hurdles title at the World Championships in Oregon, USA.
Tobi Amusan then completed her astonishing run with a historic gold medal in the final, running a wind-aided 12.06secs to become the first Nigerian world outdoor champion.
However, Amusan was provisionally suspended last month for missing her whereabouts tests, sparking fears that she might not compete in Budapest.
However, the Athletics Integrity Unit cleared Tobi Amusan last Thursday to defend her title.
“A panel of the Disciplinary Tribunal, by majority decision, has today (Thursday) found that Tobi Amusan has not committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period,” the statement read.
A relieved Amusan added that she was in top shape to defend her title, despite her suspension.
“I am thrilled to put this behind me, and I look forward to defending my title at next week’s World Championships. I generally have been & consistently will be an ally of CLEAN SPORT. To my Five Fingers; God is the greatest & I genuinely appreciate y’all for the support,” Amusan stated after her clearance.
